SoFunction
Updated on 2025-04-11

Solutions for excessive memory usage when using Docker

1. Check memory usage

First, we need to understand which processes occupy a lot of memory. The following tools are available:

  • htoportopOrder: These commands can help you view the system memory usage in real time and find out processes that consume a lot of memory.
htop
  • docker statsOrder:Specially used to view the resource usage of Docker containers, including CPU and memory.
docker stats

Through these tools, you can quickly find which containers or processes are large memory users.

2. Limit the memory usage of the container

If you find that some containers consume too much memory, you can control their memory usage through Docker's memory limiting function. When starting the container, use--memoryParameters to set memory limits. For example:

docker run -d --memory=512m your-image

This command limits the memory usage of the container to 512MB.

3. Optimize the application

Sometimes, memory problems can come from applications within the container. Check the application for memory leaks or resource abuse and make necessary optimizations. For example:

  • Check the loops and recursion in the code to make sure there is no unintentional consumption of large amounts of memory.
  • Use more efficient data structures and algorithms.

4. Clean unnecessary containers and images

In a long-running Docker environment, a large number of containers and images that are no longer in use may accumulate. Cleaning them frees up system resources:

docker container prune
docker image prune

These commands will delete all stopped containers and unused images.

5. Manage system-level cache

System-level cache may also consume a lot of memory. The cache can be cleaned with the following command:

sync; echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches

Note: This is just freeing the cache and will not clear used memory.

6. Increase system memory or swap space

If the memory requirement is indeed high, you can consider increasing the physical memory of the server. Additionally, configuring swap space can use disk space as virtual memory when physical memory runs out:

fallocate -l 4G /swapfile
chmod 600 /swapfile
mkswap /swapfile
swapon /swapfile

7. Set up monitoring and early warning

To prevent memory problems from happening again, it is recommended to set up monitoring tools to monitor memory usage in real time and configure early warning functions. This allows you to receive notifications and take measures in a timely manner when memory usage is too high.

Through the steps described in this article, you can effectively manage and optimize memory usage in the Docker environment to ensure system stability and performance. If the problem persists, more in-depth diagnosis and optimization of specific applications may be required.

This is the end of this article about the solution of excessive memory usage when using Docker. For more related content on excessive memory usage of Docker, please search for my previous articles or continue browsing the related articles below. I hope everyone will support me in the future!